How To Save A Life
by Dee Rhymz
Summary: After Edd's mysterious vampire rebirth, the others are in a heated argument with each other about the concept of killing him for their own safety. NOTE: This story plays in the "Ed, Edd n Eddy Highschool" setting.


_"I'm not doing this. Ask someone else, I'm out."_

_"Don't be a dork, he's your friend!"_

_"Are you stupid, maybe that's why I can't do it! Somebody!"_

Eddy looked around, offering the rifle to anyone who might step out. But nobody came forth.  
_"COME ON!"_ Eddy shouted.

Were they honestly expecting this from him? What a sadistic joke. This entire time, this entire "battle", he did nothing but avoid it. While Kevin and his squad were out demanding blood, he and Ed were just standing there in the background.  
And here they gave him a gun and asked him to perform the final blow.

Eddy turned his head and saw how Edd was still sitting there, chained to the garage door, struggling. It was a terrible sight. He was a terrible sight. The chains were strong enough to hold him, but the old garage door started to deform with every single jerk. It was a miracle the thing hadn't already collapsed.  
As the door detached itself more and more, the others started to panic.

_"You have to do it! Now, dude!"_ Nazz yelled at him.

_"This wretch must vanish from this sphere of life as it does not belong here!"_ Rolf shouted.

_"What are you waiting for, hurry up!"_ Kevin demanded.

From all sides Eddy was being ordered around. He didn't know who to listen to, even though they all pretty much yelled the same thing. The noise and pressure started to make him feel sick in his stomach, and eventually the angry voices were echoing in the far distance. He didn't want to do this. Please, God, he didn't want to do this. It didn't help that Edd's loud struggle made the heavy chains bang nonstop onto the steel plates of the garage door, like a warning sound, increasing the pressure and fear in the room.

Eddy's body cramped. He felt like throwing up, the noise just didn't stop and it kept reminding him of the horrible nightmare he was in.

_"EDDY!?"_Kevin shouted.

_"Yes, awaken, big-belted Ed-boy! Say the beast its good riddance!" _Rolf followed.

Eddy's eyes kept switching back and forth between Edd and the others. Then he looked at the rifle in his hands. This just wasn't right, this whole scenario wasn't right.

_"EDDY!"_ Kevin shouted again.

Eddy grinded his teeth. Just what was the matter with them, this was Edd they were talking about!  
This entire week it was like only he and Ed cared about his well-being, while the others just focussed on taking him down, with shovel chin-Kevin leading the angry mob.  
Stupid Kevin, he always made everything worse. Eddy hoped he'd be on his side, as he often admitted he liked Edd, but apparently Kevin didn't value his life or was even slightly curious about this problem's cause and backstory.

Something happened, and only Edd knew what. They've tried talking to him more than once, and Eddy had to admit, it was hard to make him talk, let alone capture him to even get a shred of his attention. But that just meant they didn't try hard enough.  
Were they just going accept the silence and get rid of him, like he's always been this monster?

Kevin grabbed Eddy's shoulder and started shaking him.  
_"Hey, dork!"_

_"SHUT UP!" _Eddy roared.

Everybody went silent. Without another word, Eddy dropped the rifle, walked to the back of the garage and sat down on the floor with his arms folded.  
_"WE'RE NOT KILLING DOUBLE D. I'm not doing it, to heck with all of ya!" _he shouted.

Then Edd also stopped and calmed himself down in a frighteningly fast manner. He silently laughed at them.  
_"You all make me very sad." _he said with a sudden straight face.

_"Shut your gap!"_ Kevin yelled at him.

_"Whatever you say, bucket head."_

_"If it were up to me you'd be as good as dead!" _he growled.

_"Why isn't it up to you?"_

Everybody awaited Kevin's response, but he didn't say anything. He looked like he was trying really hard to figure out his comeback. Eddy rolled his eyes and continued moping in the corner.  
Kevin was just afraid, like everybody else. It was easier for him to order other people around, instead of actually doing something decisive.

_"Because.."_ Kevin finally said,_ "..you know, killing you wouldn't make me any better than you!"  
_Eddy frowned. Yet it was alright for him to do it?

_"That's so adorable, I didn't see you being the cliché superhero type." _Edd replied.

_"Why are you doing this, Double D?"_ Nazz asked.

_"It's funny."_

_"It isn't funny, you're scaring us!"_

Edd grinned at her, but didn't reply. Instead, he turned to Ed who had not said a word the entire time.  
_"Say, handsome, is by any chance that cute little sister of yours present in the room?"_

Ed immediately jumped up.  
_"NO! YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY BABY SISTER, YOU HEAR!"_

_"I was just asking you a question." _Edd shrugged.

_"C-c-calm down, monobrow!"_ Eddy called from the back, _"This is still Double D, ya know, and questions don't hurt anybody."_

_"Yeah. No harm in asking mere questions. Like, can I have a taste of your sister?"_

_"DOUBLE D, DO NOT TEST MY PATIENCE."_ Ed shouted.

_"I'll get her sooner or later."_

_"DOUBLE D!"_

_"I know she and her pale girlfriend are waiting outside that door right now."_

_"NO!"_

_"..It'll take just two steps."_

In a blind rage Ed sprinted towards him. But before he could reach the grinning menace, the others quickly jumped on him.  
_"Don't do this, Ed, he's messing with ya!"_ Jonny said, while clinging onto his foot.

_"TOUCH SARAH AND YOU'LL BE SORRY!"_

_"Why so upset while I'm willing to do you a favour?" _Edd smiled,_"Wouldn't mommy and daddy love you again if baby sister went missing?"_

"WHAT!...YOU, YOU!"

_"No, Ed!" _Nazz yelled.

"_Don't, simpleton Ed-boy, the evil can only be fought with the organic belongings of its old self."_ said Rolf, who was still successfully holding onto his left ear.

With all his might Ed tried to escape from their grasps. His face was burning red and his eyes were bloodshot.  
It was the first time the others experienced him that upset, or showing any emotion at all. Ed did not know how to handle a situation he would normally read about in his comics. Not of this magnitude. Not if it concerned a friend. He met with the results of Edd's actions and it changed him; this was too real for him. The whole experience had turned him into an empty shell, lifeless and broken.  
But Ed's outburst was so strong and sudden, it only could've been all the anger and disappointment he had carried around in his silence these past days.

_"Stop it, stop it!"_Nazz begged.

_"LEMME GO, I WANNA PUNCH HIM, HE WANTS TO HURT SARAH!" _Ed yelled.

_"Ed, you're not helping Double D this way! Go sit your butt down!"_ Eddy then shouted irritated from the back.

_"BUT HE.."_

_"Shut up, I don't wanna hear anything!"_

Ed looked at him and then slowly calmed himself down till the point the others could finally let him go. He felt his heart beating inside his throat. Edd ignored him this whole week, and this was the first thing he said to him?

Ed swallowed his last anger and took a few steps back. He wasn't sure what he would've done or what would've happened to him if the others weren't there. Or if Eddy didn't scold him. He could only be thankful, as he already regretted his actions.  
But Edd looked unsettled by Eddy's break-up.

_"You.."_ he began, as he turned his head towards Eddy's direction, _"You are the dumbest of them all."_

Eddy looked up.  
_"What?"_

_"Of everybody in the room, you're the most incapable of passing any judgement. Why are you in charge?"_

Nobody knew how to respond, as they weren't sure what he meant by that. After a short silence, he turned to the others:  
_"You are all wasting your time, and you may thank lard beak here."_

_"Double D, geez!" _Eddy said slightly embarrassed._  
_  
_"I'm not this Double D, you moron. I'm merely using this pathetic body of his. I don't even know who you people are. But I'll admit, it was fun hanging out with you guys."_

They all gave each other a confused look.  
_"..You look like Double D, how can you not be him?"_ Nazz asked.

_"You are easily fooled. He has been dead for a while now."_

_"What do ya mean, you're sitting right there! Stop playing dumb with us." _Eddy said angrily.

_"DOUBLE D IS DEAD?" _Ed cried.

_"Double D's not dead, damnit! Shut up, Ed!" _Eddy snarled at him.

_"Yeah, you look pretty alive to me, but why don't we just help you with that. Shoot him, Eddy."_ Kevin joined in.

_"I'm not shooting Double D!"_

As everybody started bickering with each other again, Edd began to laugh.  
_"..This is why, lard beak." _

_"Why what." _Eddy replied annoyed.

_"Why I'm hot, ho oh oh."_ he chuckled.

_"What a surprise, he's wasting our time again. Nothing's gonna change, Eddy, you have to shoot him, it's him or us."_ Kevin said.

This was hopeless. Kevin was right, but Eddy didn't want him to be right, he wanted himself to be right. Edd has been far from helpful. They just learned he was supposedly "dead", but he didn't know what that meant. It must've been a metaphor of some kind.

Eddy rubbed the back of his bruised head. In the right corner of his eyes he saw Ed standing next to him. Even though he just had an anger attack, he looked like he felt just as clueless. Neither of them wanted to end up making a mistake they couldn't revert. They were willing to do anything, as long it didn't involve killing their friend. Was that a bad thing?

It just wouldn't be fair to let one week of horror erase all the nice years they had together, would it? Eddy wondered if it really applied to this situation, but he liked to think it did. It should. They've been through so much together, and Eddy had done much wrong in the past and often hadn't been fair towards his friends. This giant "Edd hunt" only made him realize his past errors even more. He didn't want to do wrong anymore.

After another long silence, Jonny decided to approach Eddy:  
_"Eddy..I think what Double D means is that he's no longer Double D. And that we have to accept th.."_

_"Frig off!"_ Eddy hissed as he backed away from him, _"This is Double D. You know nothing. This is Double D!"_

_"Eddy..I kinda think that.." _Ed mumbled.

_"You kinda think WHAT." _he interrupted him, _"I'm sorry, are ya giving up on Double D? He's just sick, that's all, and we need to help him, 'cause we're his friends."_

_"But he wants to hurt Sarah."_

_"Are you a friend or not!"_

_"Yeah..! Yeah." _Ed replied nervously.

_"Are you serious! What kind of illness makes people chew off someone's neck!"_ Kevin shouted.

_"I say he's sick! There's a cure for everything and we're gonna keep looking for it." _Eddy replied.

_"He killed her, you dork! Who knows how many other people he killed! He tried to kill us! He's not sick, he's insane!"_

_"That's enough, Kevin, leave Eddy alone. They're friends for a reason." _Nazz ordered.

Kevin started mumbling to himself as he turned his head away from Eddy. Edd was still silently leaning back against the door, watching them with a most creepy, satisfied smile on his face. He really was at peace with himself, despite his position.

_"..What are we gonna do next..?"_ Ed sighed.

_"You know what you have to do!"_ Kevin replied.

_"Just shut up, okey..!" _Eddy snarled, _"Lemme think for once, there gotta be a way." _

_"You're just delaying things again, there is no way!"_

_"There gotta be a way!"_

_"There is no way!"_

"KEVIN!" Nazz hissed.

_"I wish I was smarter so I could find a way!"_ Ed squeaked.

_"Then tell me, Eddy, how many people are you planning to sacrifice just so that that monster can live?" _Kevin continued.

_"I'm..not..I.."_ Eddy stammered.

Then Eddy froze, he looked like he had a sudden self-realization. His eyes widened. Would he go that far?  
Eddy quickly looked at Ed, trying to find the answer in his eyes, but Ed's expression was similar to his.

_"No..wait..no...no.."_

Eddy was trying to find his words, but he couldn't come up with anything that wasn't a dark confession. Kevin knew he had said enough and headed to the back of the garage, waiting for whatever was going to happen next.  
Then Ed started crying, and soon Eddy followed. Maybe he and Ed had their share of bad traits and habits, but would they honestly kill people just to keep Edd alive? It wasn't right. This was not how you solved a problem.

Of course Eddy knew. He understood very well what was going on. There was no cure. This was no illness. Whatever happened, it was out of this world and out of their control. But this despicable creature was the only thing left of Edd. It wasn't anything he or Ed could cherish in any way, but neither was it something they could let go.

Eddy had to be realistic about the situation, but it was so hard. Edd couldn't stay, this fact he had tried not to acknowledge. He made so many excuses, and tried to make the others and himself believe there was a way, but it had no use, Eddy couldn't possibly give up his humanity in order to protect a psychopath. Even if that psychopath was once his best friend.  
But even Ed realized sooner than him: this wasn't Edd. Whatever happened to the real Edd was not clear to him, but it was clear that the person sitting in front of them was somebody else. An impostor, a demon, wearing and abusing Edd's image.

_"BOO HOO."_ Edd brutally interrupted them.

Ed and Eddy looked at him through their tears with disbelief. Just why did this Edd enjoy hurting them so much.  
Why didn't he just pretend to be Edd. Eddy would've bought it. He would've bought anything at that point, he just wanted things to be like they once were. He was ready to forgive him for all his horrible deeds, if he'd just stop the madness and come back. He wanted to untie him, he wanted to be bored by him, he wanted him to be Edd. But this Edd wanted to die for some reason, he wasn't doing much to save himself. It was like he knew Eddy couldn't just shoot him like that, and this was his final stab in the heart, among the many others.

_"Guys, there's nothing wrong with doing the right thing."_ Nazz reassured them.  
_"You know, Double D wouldn't have liked it if somebody abused his body like this."_

_"Are you starting now too.."_ Eddy sighed.

_"..But Kevin is right. Jonny is right. Like, even Double D is right. Look at everything he's done and all the trouble we've been through. He is a phony!" _she cried.

_"Yeah, besides, you guys are good friends, ya don't need to prove that anymore." _Jonny added.

Eddy slowly headed towards the rifle on the floor and picked it up. He let out a deep sigh as he looked at the weapon in his hands. He just wanted someone to tell him that there's still hope, or tell him this was all a sick, unfunny prank. But so far people only told him to shoot. "He's dangerous, kill him". "Pick up that damn rifle and shoot".  
These past few days were like Hell. Everybody looked tired and frustrated, and obviously had enough. With exception of Edd, who was still calmly sitting on the floor. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world and was just waiting for someone to bring him a cup of tea.

Eddy let out a deep, trembling sigh. Then with much hesitation he slowly pointed the rifle at his chained friend.  
_"Hey, don't point that thing at me, you might hit me."_ Edd joked.

While he was aiming the rifle, his body was shaking. Cold sweat was running down his back. It didn't help that the others either turned their backs or their eyes away from the scene. Eddy held his breath as his eyes started to water again.

_"I don't wanna make a mistake..!"_ he sobbed.

Why Edd. Why Peach Creek.

_"I just can't..I..can't live with myself..if I make a mistake..!"_

Eddy closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again. But he was still standing there with this ugly rifle in his hands, pointed at Edd. That boy he knew for 15 years. What were they going to do after all this? It didn't even matter what they'd do now, their lives were ruined.  
Eddy swallowed. Everything just seemed so surreal, he couldn't believe what was going on.

_"I don't believe it either, Eddy."_ Ed said.

Eddy wiped away a tear.  
_"Heh. You're telekanpetik, Ed?"_

...

_"..It's "telepathic", Eddy."_

Ed and Eddy looked up and saw Edd smiling at them. But it was different from his usual creepy smiles, it was familiar for once. It was a friend's request. Everything that had happened in the room started to make a little more sense.  
They were good friends, they didn't need to prove that anymore.

Ed held onto the rifle and then they both aimed.

_"See you in a second life, Double D."_ Ed smiled.


End file.
